Pray for the EOTC, which seems to be a magnet for these pseudo-Orthodox types.

I give you the "Ethiopian Orthodox Coptic Church of North and South America", which claims to have been started by His Majesty Haile Selassie and Abune Mikael and to recognize His Holiness Pope Shenouda III and the Ethiopian "Patriarch in Exile" Abune Merkorios as their spiritual, if not administrative heads.

Check the wikipedia page, which seems to have been put together by the group itself after a Q&A between myself, HaileAmmanuel, and one of the leaders of this group, posted publicly in the African Orthodox Churches in America yahoo group back in 2005.

Pray not only for the real Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church, but for all of the sincere seekers after Orthodoxy who might be confused and ensnared by all these pseudo-Orthodox bodies utilizing the Ethiopian Orthodox name.

« Last Edit: July 30, 2010, 02:06:59 PM by Antonious Nikolas »

Logged

My sins run out behind me and I do not see them, but today I am coming to judge the errors of another.

Almost nobody, here in Ethiopia, I can say, knows about this church. I think this is an old, self standing, church with no Ethiopian membership and is in no way a threat to the EOTC.

Hiywot

True, but Americans need to stop doing this kind of stuff. People wonder why there are so many different denominations and religions in the world.....well a good chunk of the reason is because America doesn't regulate who can and can't start a group. America doesn't stop people from hijacking the faith of other people.

Someone today can start a new Mormon group with no connection to the Mormons whatsoever and claim to be the real Mormons of later day Saints. It's wrong, but America allows this sort of nonsense.

Lord Have Mercy!

« Last Edit: August 23, 2010, 10:12:10 AM by jnorm888 »

Logged

"loving one's enemies does not mean loving wickedness, ungodliness, adultery, or theft. Rather, it means loving the theif, the ungodly, and the adulterer." Clement of Alexandria 195 A.D.

Almost nobody, here in Ethiopia, I can say, knows about this church. I think this is an old, self standing, church with no Ethiopian membership and is in no way a threat to the EOTC.

Hiywot

True, but Americans need to stop doing this kind of stuff. People wonder why there are so many different denominations and religions in the world.....well a good chunk of the reason is because America doesn't regulate who can and can't start a group. America doesn't stop people from hijacking the faith of other people.

Someone today can start a new Mormon group with no connection to the Mormons whatsoever and claim to be the real Mormons of later day Saints. It's wrong, but America allows this sort of nonsense.

Believe me, the last thing you want is the government regulating religion.

As to the so-called 'independent' Orthodox and Catholic Churches - the vagante ecclesia, the US has no particular monopoly on the genre. The same can be found on every continent except Antarctica.

And, while I can appreciate the concern that the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahado Church seems particularly beset by such, I assure you that it is nowhere near the saturation level that afflicts the Ukrainian Churches. Ignoring the disputed jurisdictional claims by the jurisdictions that have allegiance to the EP, MP, or KP, there are significant numbers of other Ukrainian ecclesia claiming to be Orthodox.

Edited comments that I once made elsewhere on the Ukrainian phenomenon:

Quote

Is it that time again? The annual census of Ukrainian Orthodox ecclesia

For those unfamiliar with this ritual, it's one performed pretty much annually here. Usually some variant on this query is posed and answered, after which we lament the situation and others chime in with expressions of amazement at the way ecclesia multiply among our Ukrainian brothers.

[Someone] has, however, introduced a new element into it this year - the question of who actually has faithful. In years past, we have not always bothered with that consideration, as it takes some of the fun out of it. ...

With all due respect to my Ukrainian Orthodox brethren, my apologies for seeming to have fun at your expense, but you have to admit that there aren't many other instances in which so many different religious bodies all claim the use of a common styling - Old Catholics being the only ones who come immediately to my mind.

In a later response by me to my remarks, I enumerated 8 that year.

Many years,

Neil

« Last Edit: July 10, 2011, 01:37:56 AM by Irish Melkite »

Logged

"Not only is it unnecessary to adopt the customs of the Latin Rite to manifest one's Catholicism, it is an offense against the unity of the Church."